TheCommon Thread  Updated
by MistressRuby
Summary: Updated and edited story of how one person can create an impact.


The Common Thread

When Synergy breaks down, Jerrica needs to call in a stranger. This stranger ends up making an impression with both Jem and the Holograms and the Misfits. UPDATED AND EXPANDED -GIVE IT A READ!!

Disclaimer: I make no claim to any characters found in the Jem and The Holograms series. Flare, however is mine and so is TechRat's backstory.

Jerrica could see Rio coming up the driveway. She cursed under her breath and ran into the bathroom. She quickly turned on the shower, re-closed the curtain and exited the bathroom. Aja passed her in the hall and gave her a questioning look.

"Warming up the shower?" She asked.

"Rio's on his way up. As far as he'll know, Jerrica is in the shower. I'll worry about the water bill later." Jerrica started. She then quickly felt for her red star earrings. "Show time, Synergy!"

Aja stared at Jerrica. Her transformation into Jem looked a little off. She could read Aja's expression and bust back into the bathroom to use the mirror. Jerrica wiped away the fog that had already accumulated on the mirror to examine the outcome.

"Oh no, what am I going to do?" Jerrica cried.

"Jem, where are you?" She could hear Rio approach.

"What if you have the hologram resent?" Aja suggested.

"I'll try." The half Jem-half Jerrica mix again felt for the earrings and nervously proclaimed "Show time, Synergy." Nothing happened. "Darn it!" Jerrica was never one to curse much.

"I'll stall Rio." Aja said as she left the room. "You know – this might be a good time to let Rio know about you being Jem, Jerrica." Jerrica replied with a dirty look.

Aja met Rio on the stairs. "Rio, can you help me really quickly?" She asked.

"Well, I've only got a few minutes and I need to see Jem. She needs to approve these appearances." Rio said, motioning to the stack of papers in his hand. "I have to get them back across town in an hour."

"Plenty of time!" Aja said, pulling him downstairs. She worried about what task to set him to.

Meanwhile, Jerrica was having her own problems. She stared back at the mop of pink hair, the half face of make-up and the conservative clothing that she put on when she got dressed.

"Synergy, what is going on?" She said, pressing her earrings.

"Jerrica, I am experiencing some sort of a glitch." The ethereal voice explained. "I will try to resend the hologram."

"Just let me turn back into Jerrica. I'll take a look at you later."

"I will disable the hologram"

Jerrica transformed back into herself. She turned off the shower and hurried down to see how Aja was occupying Rio. She met them in the living room. Aja had Rio standing on a short pedestal with a long silver cape over his clothes; she was wildly pinning a hem. Rio looked relieved to see Jerrica.

"Hi, Sweetie." Jerrica said. She hoped her voice didn't sound too nervous.

"I have the papers for Jem to approve her appearances at the benefit ball." Rio started. "But then Aja told me she needed me to help her with the hem on this."

"Well, it sure suits you." Jerrica joked. She relaxed. Rio still didn't suspect anything. Though she did consider his mechanical prowess and wondered if he could fix Synergy.

"Where is Jem?" Rio asked, looking eagerly behind Jerrica. Jerrica was well aware of Rio's infatuation with Jem. She wasn't too concerned with it at the moment.

"She is uh... " Jerrica's mind went blank.

"She's with Shana picking out fabric." Aja offered, knowing that Shana wouldn't return from her date with Anthony for a while.

"I'll sign those." Jerrica said taking the papers our of Rio's hand. "She usually has me sign all this stuff anyhow." Jerrica scribbled her signature across the papers, not specifically reading any of them.

"Ok, great. I was afraid Jem wouldn't be able to make an appearance first thing tomorrow on Lin-Z's show. I know how much she likes to make those appearances."

Jerrica stopped short in handing them back to Rio. "Tomorrow morning?"

"Is that a problem?"

Her mind buzzed. She'd never be able to fix Synergy in time, but how would she explain that to Rio. "No." She finally replied quietly.

After saying her goodbyes with Rio, she hurried back into the mansion. Aja was still pinning the cape, although a dressmaker's form had taken over Rio's duties as a model.

"Synergy is broken. I don't know how we're going to do that appearance without her." Jerrica broke the bad news.

Aja dropped her busywork. She followed Jerrica into the room where Synergy was housed. Jerrica ran Synergy's self check modes.

"It is not effective, Jerrica." Synergy's voice sadly announced with each intervention.

"What should we do, Synergy?" Aja finally asked. "Do you know what is wrong?"

Synergy ran through a battery of tests. After what seemed like an eternity she reported that three of her transmission sensors had shorted out during the last holographic transmission. "It must have been after that last lightning storm." Synergy offered. "You will need to replace the sensors."

"I don't know how…Who can do that?" Jerrica slumped down on Synergy's keyboard. "And don't even suggest Rio. I don't want to go there."

Aja twirled a thick strand of her blue hair around her index finger. "Well, I can call my friend Flare."

"Who's that?" Jerrica had never heard this name before.

"I met her when Starlight house burned down. She's the firefighter that I met at the house during the arson investigation. She's really smart. She had a laptop computer that she built herself."

"I don't know if I want a stranger knowing about Synergy."

"Well, it's either her or we get Rio involved." Aja knew that wouldn't be an option.

"If you think she's best for the job." Jerrica said tiredly.

Aja walked back through the wall concealing Synergy. She wondered how much longer Synergy could maintain that wall before that sensor burned out. She decided that she better think about building a real wall behind it someday. She had really clicked with Flare during the long investigation process. They had met for lunch a few times since the investigation. She was sure that Flare would come by and take a look.

Ch2

Jenny Baxter arrived at the mansion quicker than Aja had expected. Aja had been filling Raya in on the situation but paused to meet her guest at the door. She struggled with how to explain the situation. Raya had never met Flare before. She had envisioned a stout, brutish woman but found that she was completely incorrect. Flare was tall and thin with dark, piercing eyes and milky white skin. Raya pictured her in her firefighter gear and began to smile; she'd have never believed it if se hadn't been told otherwise. Jerrica met them in the hallway.

"I'm Jerrica Benton." She offered sternly. Jerrica didn't know why she felt threatened by her.

"Jenny Baxter," She offered her handshake "most call me Flare."

Aja led Flare to the blank wall concealing Synergy. "Go ahead, walk through it." She instructed.

"Through the wall?" Flare questioned.

"Yeah – it's not really there." Aja walked through, pulling Flare by the arm. Flare gasped when she saw the equipment.

"This is quite a set-up." She whistled; her brown hair had a pink glow from Synergy's lights. Raya looked at her and couldn't help but find her attractive. This confused her.

"Flare, this computer is not like anything you've ever seen." Jerrica worried about telling her about Jem.

"You're not kidding." Flare joked. This made Jerrica relax a little. "What's this thing for?"

Jerrica took in a deep breath. Aja and Raya nervously anticipated her explanation. "Flare, I am Jem. I use this computer to cast an image on me to become her. We call this Synergy. She's top-secret, so you can't tell anyone about this."

Flare didn't say anything for a long time. She looked over the computer. "Wouldn't it be easier to wear a wig and make-up?" She finally said. Aja and Raya began to giggle. Jerrica tried to rationalize the computer but ended up laughing herself.

"It's not that easy." Jerrica offered. Flare didn't press any further. She walked over to the console for proper introduction. "Synergy, this is Flare. She is going to replace your sensors."

Synergy and Flare exchanged technical terms for a few minutes. Flare was getting a proper explanation from Synergy of how she worked and what she did. It was difficult since she wasn't working right. Jerrica was really upset to have the secret out to yet another person. First is was that Tibetan woman, then the President now this person. Eventually this would get out.

Flare turned to the group. "I think I know where to get replacements for these sensors. I can have Synergy ship shape just as soon as I get them."

"That's good. We have a show in the morning." Jerrica said.

"Plenty of time. And don't worry -you're secret is safe with me."

Ch 3.

Flare went across town to an electronics store. She never really considered herself that good with computers – she could get things to work, and she had even built a laptop computer out of old parts, but she felt in over her head with this. She also didn't like dealing with the staff in these types of stores – they always seemed to talk down to her, so she always felt a little funny going into these types of places. She surveyed the clientele briefly and browsed the aisles until she got to the items that looked like the defunct object in her hand. She noticed a man in a trench coat with black hair in a wild haircut browsing through the same items. She made brief eye contact with him and smiled; there was something oddly handsome about him. He smirked back and busied himself with studying the power capacity of the objects in his hands. It didn't take Flare long to find what she was looking for. She had the option of getting replacements that were the same or objects that were faster. She picked up the packages and tried to make sense of them. She agonized over the decision for a few moments, all the while intrigued by the mysterious man sharing aisle space with her.

"If you get the faster sensor, you'll need to add a fuse to it, especially if you plan on using it to transmit an image." The mysterious man said quietly in a raspy voice that startled Flare.

"Wha..." she said not sure if he was talking to her.

"You're right to replace those sensors with the faster ones, but you'll need a fuse to absorb any power surges or you'll be replacing them again."

"I'll take your advice then. You seem like you know your stuff when it comes to this." Flare replied, growing more intrigued by the moment.

"I've installed a few transmission sensors in my time. In fact, I am working on a project to transmit a 3-dimensional picture into a remote location. The government has something like it, but I am trying to make it a simpler process."

"Very impressive. I've fixed a few hard drives over the years, but I think I'm over my head with this, I am not so sure I can do this without screwing up a priceless system." Flare sighed.

"No system is priceless. Anything can be fixed."

"Unless it catches fire." Flare laughed. "My name is Jenny… everyone calls me Flare I'm a firefighter – just a little fire humor."

The man smiled and looked at her deeply for a moment. "I'm Tim.. I'm an electrical engineer, of sorts. I've had a few inventions and plenty of setbacks too." He wasn't in the habit of talking to women this casually. At that moment, another man with dark hair walked up the aisle and eagerly approached. "Speaking of setbacks." He said softly.

"TechRat, I've been all over town looking for you. How the hell are we supposed to get your little _project _set up with out you there to tell us how to put ittogether" The man yelled loudly. TechRat dropped his head and seemed to shrink back inside the shell he had dared to venture out of for Flare.

"Eric, I told you, I needed to get a few more things. It's not ready yet." TechRat replied quietly.

"Well get your damn act together. I'm not paying you to work on your side projects." Eric replied, poking TechRat in the arm.

Flare looked at the exchange between the two men with horror. Eric turned his attention to her slowly looking her up and down, smoothed his hair and said, "Hello, I'm Eric Raymond. I am the Misfits manager and… You are positively stunning."

"Uh, thanks, I think." Flare replied cautiously.

"In fact you are so stunning that I think I need to ask you out tonight. Say 2 am underneath my sheets."

"I've got plans, and it sounds like you do. Besides, I don't associate with creeps like you, manager of Misfits music or not."

"No, my good lady; TechRat here is a creep. I can be the man of your dreams. I can make you a star." Eric responded smoothly. Flare looked him over in disgust.

"That's pretty big talk from someone with three feet of toilet paper trailing from his shoe. Kind of makes you lose that edge." Flare replied. Eric looked down to see a banner of paper trailing from his black wingtip. He hastily scraped it off shaking his head. TechRat stifled a smile and dropped his head even further.

"Tim, I better run -I have to get these sensors in. Thanks for the advice." Flare lightly touched his am. He didn't flinch away, but rather lifted his head in surprise. She looked at him, smiled and winked. He smiled back then snapped into the reality of Eric pulling at his arm.

"Don't touch me…" he snapped at Eric, who didn't listen and pulled him along. Flare watched this and wondered if TechRat could take Eric in a fight. He was a bit taller but thinner. Flare purchased her items and made her way back to Starlight Mansion, wondering if she'd ever meet this intriguing man again. Hoping she would.

Ch. 4

When Flare returned, the Holograms were practicing in their studio. Flare waved and made her way toward Synergy's room. She carefully walked up to the wall, still not totally believing that it was a hologram. Jerrica was busy applying make-up. She had already donned a pink wig.

"Taking my advice?" Flare asked casually.

"My boyfriend Rio is on his way. He's expecting to see Jem here." Jerrica anxiously replied. "How does this look?"

"Your boyfriend doesn't know that you're Jem?" Flare asked to which Jerrica sighed. "Can't he tell the difference? I mean it still looks like you except the hair and make-up and it certainly sounds like you."

"That's not the worst of it." Jerrica started, "He is totally enamored with Jem, and I suppose I created that by flirting with him when I am Jem."

"Well, I'm not going to delve into that. I'll have Synergy here up and running shortly and you can get things back to normal." Flare sat on the floor and got to work. Jerrica began removing the make-up from her face.

"It's just that he hates deception and lying. He'd hate me if I told him that." Jerrica wept.

"So he hasn't figured out that he's never seen you two together?"

"He has –I can have Synergy cast a hologram of whoever I'm not whenever I need it." Jerrica sobbed.

"Sounds like a pretty complex situation. Think you'll ever tell him?" Flare accepted that this conversation had to go a bit further.

"I guess I have to." She started, "I mean it's not like he's been totally truthful with me. It's just that I've gone through great lengths to deceive him – he just hasn't volunteered information that I haven't asked for."

"Maybe you should start asking him some questions." Flare offered.

"Maybe – I'll have to think about it."

Flare busied herself with her task. She quietly began soldering the fuses into the items she bought. Naturally her mind wandered back to her encounter in the computer store. She was aware that Jem and the Holograms and the Misfits had a rivalry.

"Do you know Eric Raymond?" Flare finally asked.

"He's head slime ball at Misfits music. Is he a friend of yours?"

"Hardly. I met him today when I got this stuff. I also met the most intriguing man there. He knew a lot about computers. Eric was very abusive to him. It was strange." Flare never took her eyes off her task as she worked. "I felt bad for him."

"That's typical Eric. You didn't tell him about Synergy, did you?" Jerrica still didn't trust Flare.

"Girl, I gave you my word. Anything gets out it's not from me." Flare coolly responded.

Flare toiled for a bit longer and rebooted Synergy. Jerrica felt relieved to see the purple figure in the screen. Synergy ran herself through a multitude of tests. Jerrica and Flare stared at the screen in silence. After what seemed to be an eternity to both women, Synergy looked out at them with a smile.

"Well done, Flare. Emmett Benton would be impressed." Synergy reported. "I am in perfect working order."

"Let's try it." Jerrica felt for her earrings. "Showtime, Synergy!"

Jerrica morphed into a ball of light and then into a figure with a wild mop of pink hair. Flare smiled and felt a little privileged that Jerrica made this transformation in front of her. Jerrica looked in the mirror near her abandoned make-up table. She smiled at the results. Once the visual transformation ended the mental transformation began. Jem was more free-spirited than Jerrica. She danced around the room, hugged Flare tightly and then headed back to the mirror for a second look.

"Perfect! Synergy, I'm glad to have you back." Jem twirled around in the mirror. She crossed the room and headed out of the wall in time to meet Rio. She wondered if Rio had noticed her suddenly emerge from the wall. She determined from his vacant expression that he hadn't. Suddenly he noticed Jem in the hall.

"Hi, Jem!" He sounded like a teenage boy.

"Hi Rio. I am excited about the appearance tomorrow. I am so glad you set that up. It really shows how sweet you are." Jem had fully taken over and Jerrica's relationship problems wee the last thing on her mind. Besides, Rio hadn't looked at her that way in ages. She mindlessly took Rio's hand and walked with him into the studio where the Holograms had been practicing.

Flare took this opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. She eyed Rio from a glimpse and wondered if he was really that clueless or simply wrapped up in his own fantasy of having the affections of two women – one very stoic and one that was clearly the life of any party. If it weren't for the fact the Jerrica's heart was broken by his inability to tell the difference it would probably be a perfect affair; but it makes for a very complex situation when one isn't aware that their mistress in actually their beloved. She accepted that she couldn't fix the world to her standards and decided that if Jerrica, a practical stranger, didn't want to make changes, then she shouldn't make any for her. Still, she stifled the urge to go in and shut Synergy down to bring everything to a head for resolution. She didn't. She quietly slipped out the front door.

Ch. 5

Raya hid the fact that she smoked. Since she moved into Starlight Mansion, she spent many the nights at the end of the driveway soothing the need inside her to fill her lungs with nicotine. Jerrica would not look kindly on it and would give her a lecture; that was the last thing she wanted. Truth be told, she had grown tired of Jerrica's constant mothering. She had been lectured her profusely on their plane ride home from Mexico after Jerrica determined that she had spent entirely too much alone time with their guide, Luis. Raya took her smoke breaks as time think about how hard living with the rest could be. She sometimes felt terribly alone.

A figure was moving towards her in the darkness. She hoped it was Ashley, as she was her secret smoking buddy. She quickly determined that the person was too tall to be Ashley. Was it Rio? No, too skinny. Aja? No, not Aja. Once in the light she saw that it was Flare. It made her heart jump, which worried her. She was not typically attracted to women. Or not that she would admit to herself.

"Taking five?" Flare said with a laugh.

"Jerrica doesn't know that I smoke."

"I guess everyone here has their story." Flare responded.

"I guess so." Raya replied inhaling sharply on the long slender cigarette in her fingers… "So, you're really a fireman?"

"Yeah, I'm a firefighter." Flare responded trying to correct her verbiage inconspicuously. "It's not my paying job – I'm a volunteer firefighter."

"Oh… I didn't know that people did that for free."

"It's a calling."

"So you must be in pretty good shape, right?"

"You could say that." She felt Raya trying to flirt with her; this made her uncomfortable. "Well, I won't keep you."

Flare adjusted the bag on her shoulder. She could sense that Raya wanted to spend more time talking with her. She could feel Raya's stare. Raya felt just as confused as ever. Her heart ached to explore these new found feelings.

Raya drew closer and flicked her cigarette to the ground. "Thank you so much for everything you've done to help." With that Raya grabbed flare in an embrace. Flare uncomfortable patted Raya's back and broke the embrace.

"It was nice meeting you, Raya." Flare didn't want this to turn into anything that could be misconstrued by Raya. Her pager went off, announcing a fire call across town. She felt like she was literally saved by the bell.

Ch 6

TechRat usually didn't mind coming up with creative solutions to Eric Raymond's problems. It was just that Eric had been really abusing him lately. He looked forward to his trips out of town to attend to his classified work for the government; although the side work for Eric was a really good means of keeping that portion of his life a secret. He sighed, deciding to take the good with the bad. Besides, if Eric got to bad, he'd just have a CIA operative take him on a little trip. He smiled at this prospect, knowing well that he'd never really do that.

"Hurry up! We don't have much time!" Eric barked orders at TechRat, snapping him back to reality. TechRat rolled his eyes and pushed the wave of black hair on his head behind his ear. He refocused his eyes on soldering motion sensors onto the stage that Jem and her band would be occupying in just a few short hours. The sensors would trigger a frequency that would distort their music. TechRat thought this was a lousy idea, but kept his mouth shut. He figured that Lin-Z Pierce would notice right away that someone had tampered with the set anyhow.

He really didn't know what Eric had against Jem, nor why he was so obsessed with learning her real identity. Their music was a little too "bubblegum" for his tastes, but it was well played and some songs were really catchy. He would find himself humming _Deception_ on occasion while working. He figured that it must have something to do with their manager Jerrica Benton and Eric having a falling out. He considered this for a moment then began to consider the similarities in Jerrica and Jem. _Could be the same person, I suppose…_ his thought trailed off.

"Eric!" A shrill voice broke the silence. Pizzazz was stomping into the room. TechRat looked up briefly to see that it was indeed the green haired shrew. "I am tired of occupying keeping that security guard busy while Captain Creep-o here takes his sweet time." She pointed to TechRat when she said that. He rolled his eyes in response.

"Pizzazz, it won't be too much longer. And anyway, what are you doing in here- you're supposed to be keeping him busy!" Eric said in a harsh whisper.

"Oh, he's boring." Pizzazz said. "I took him in the broom closet and made a man of him – he fell asleep."

Eric sighed and dropped his head. He was sure that this security guard would brag to everyone that he met about his meeting with Pizzazz. He was tempted to tell Pizzazz to go back there and act like she really cared about him so he'd keep his mouth shut for a while, but he knew better than to ask that. She had been on a destructive path lately, sleeping around with as many men as she could, experimenting with drugs more than usual and eating much more than usual. She brought something she called "party in a tube" over to Eric's apartment last week. He tried some with her and didn't remember anything until the next morning when he woke up to find her lying next to him. They hadn't discussed that since it happened, but he wanted to. The only thing he had the nerve to point out to her was the fact that she needed all new costumes due to a weight gain; and even that earned him an argument and a black eye.

"Cripes, little jerk only lasted a few minutes." Pizzazz pouted. "Come on, TechRat – you're creepy, but you can finish the job for him." She crossed the room and went to grab his arm.

"Not even if you were the last woman on earth." TechRat replied stoically, keeping his eyes focused on the task in front of him. Eric stifled a laugh and worried that Pizzazz would injure him for his rejection. Pizzazz looked at him sharply then turned her attention to Eric.

"I want to go home." She demanded.

"I am done – you can go." TechRat reported. He wasn't really, but they didn't know that it wasn't going to work no matter what he did. Either way he'd get reamed out by them so he figured he may as well not waste anymore time breaking into the studio. It wasn't worth the risk.

"You're done? Don't you want to test it?" Eric wanted to avoid getting into his van with Pizzazz at this moment, for fear of being her next conquest.

"No – it is fine, we can leave." TechRat was curt in his response. He gathered up his tools and headed for the door.

"Good – you're driving, TechRat – Eric will be joining me in the back." Pizzazz put her hands on Eric as she said this, as to claim him as her property.

"You are one classy woman, Pizzazz." TechRat replied sarcastically as he got into the van. Eric headed for the passenger's seat, but Pizzazz pulled him into the back.

"It's not a good idea, Pizzazz. We should keep things professional." Eric protested, but still went along with her. The truth was that he didn't care about maintaining a professional relationship with her. He was happy to have the physical relationship. Many lonely nights of pining for the mysterious Jem had made him desperate for someone to desire him. He knew that Pizzazz didn't really want him for anything more than her own needs, he didn't think about that as he tore playfully at the buttons on Pizzazz's blouse.

TechRat turned up the radio to drown out the sounds coming from behind him. He thought briefly about driving to the closest cliff and pushing the van right over. He instead decided to drive to Misfit music and park there. He quietly slipped out of the van amongst the muffled moaning coming from the back. He shook his head in disgust and decided that the two deserved one another. He tiredly headed inside towards the elevator. He found Stormer waiting inside.

"Stormer." He greeted her.

"Hi Tim." She was the only one at Misfits Music to ever refer to him by his real name. "Is Eric with you?"

"He's uh… working something out with Pizzazz." TechRat knew that Stormer was in love with Eric. He honestly couldn't see what a nice girl like her saw in him. He didn't want to tell her what they were doing, but could read by her face that she knew.

"Oh…" She said quietly and trailed off. TechRat could see that she was going to cry. This made him uncomfortable; more so for the fact that he didn't want to see her hurt. She reminded him of his little sister Mona, before Mona got in over her head. They walked silently onto the elevator.

The elevator doors opened. Roxy and Jetta were sitting in the studio at the soundboard acting like they were working on a project. When they saw that it was only Stormer and TechRat, they went back to painting their nails. They had bottles of nail polish and acetone spread across the sensitive electrical components. TechRat cringed when he saw this.

"You ladies may want to move those chemicals away for the electronics." He calmly offered.

"Pish – mind your own, love!" Jetta replied.

"Yeah, TechRat –you're not the boss of us." Roxy didn't look up from painting her nails. "I think this color suits me." She announced of the deep crimson color on her left hand.

The elevator opened again. Eric and Pizzazz emerged with their clothing rumpled. Their prior activity was obvious to all. Eric looked slightly ashamed and would not make eye contact with anyone, especially TechRat. Pizzazz didn't seem to care if anyone knew that anything went on. She playfully swatted Eric's backside as she walked past him getting off the elevator. She walked over to her band mates and sat beside Jetta.

"What were you two up to?" Roxy asked, knowing the answer.

"Just reminding Eric of who's really in charge here." She replied. "What are ya' doing? Pedicures?" Pizzazz kicked her foot up in Jetta's face.

"Get your bloody paw out of me face!" Jetta snapped, pushing Pizzazz's foot away and into the collection of open bottles on the sensitive equipment. The bottles tipped over like miniature bowling pins. The bottles of acetone drained quickly wafting a harsh chemical yet lemony fresh smell into the air; the nail polish bottles dripped slower crimson drops into the circuitry like a slow steady flow of blood. "Oopsie!" Jetta exclaimed, grabbing for the bottles.

TechRat ran over to the circuitry in a panic. "The acetone will destroy the circuitry!"

"Relax!" Pizzazz calmly said. She grabbed the closest thing she could to mop up the spill – Eric's blazer, and tried to wipe up the mess of paint and acetone. She was succeeding in pushing more chemicals in and destroying the jacket. "See, it's fine." She flipped the switch to the "on" position.

"Are you out of your mind?!" TechRat exclaimed. The panel immediately confirmed his terror by sparking and smoking, filling the room with a noxious odor. "Get yourselves out of here and get the fire department!" He commanded as he ran to find an extinguisher.

"Who does he think he is?!" Pizzazz demanded to Eric, determined to stand her ground.

"Not now- girls, get outside!" Eric yelled as he corralled the girls towards the stairwell. He was nervously trying to get his cell phone to summon the fire department.

"We have to use the stairs?!" Roxy protested as Eric pushed them into the doorway.

Eric pulled got behind his talent and forced them down the stairs. Stormer perceived the danger and ran ahead to look for the fire trucks. She pushed open the fire escape door at the bottom of the stairwell and found herself in the alley. She sprinted to the front of the building, tripping in the process. It took a few minutes but soon she could hear the sirens in the distance and felt a little relief. Soon the rest of the band was behind her and the rest of the employees in the building had joined her on the sidewalk. Stormer looked back at the group and felt ill when she saw that TechRat was not there.

"Where's Tim?" She asked her raspy voice cracking. She looked up to the studio floor and could see quite a bit of smoke wafting out of the window.

"Who?" Jetta demanded.

Eric knew who she was talking about. "He's still inside." Just then the fire trucks pulled up.

The firefighters jumped off the truck. Several headed for the door with hoses in their hands and silver tanks accessorizing their black gear. A man in a white hat came over to Eric and the Misfits. "Is anyone still inside?" The man asked.

"Yeah, he's on the third floor – that's where the fire is. Pizzazz dumped nail polish remover in the sound panel." Eric spoke quickly, nervously.

The chief went over to his firefighters. He told them what to look for. Flare was among them. She could see Eric Raymond in a panic and recognized him immediately. She looked for TechRat, but didn't see him. She wondered if he has the person on the third floor as she entered the building, fixing her air mask onto her face.

TechRat grabbed the first extinguisher that he saw. He pulled the pin and aimed then squeezed the handle. It made a reassuring noise telling him that it was delivering the chemical. He couldn't see much. The extinguisher made no impact. He decided he was better to find his way out. He quickly tried to orient himself to the room. It wasn't as hot as it was smoky. He covered his mouth with his arm and gave a deep cough. He could hear the trucks approaching. He lay down on the floor, dizzy from the burning circuitry. The air was not much easier to breathe down here, but it would have to do – he blindly felt for the door, but could not find it. _Be calm_, he reminded himself. _Don't breathe too deeply. You'll make it out alive_. He was getting very sleepy, he felt like he was a million miles away.

The door opened. TechRat could barely hear them. He was slowly being overtaken by the fumes. The firefighters found him quickly. Flare could see who she thought could be the mysterious stranger in the corner on the room. It looked to her like he was trying to find a way out. She tapped her partner on his shoulder and led him to their victim. As she got closer she could see black hair in an usual style; she knew it was the mysterious stranger from the electronics shop. They got next to him shook him, trying to get a response. He tried to lift his head; he could make out that they were firefighters, but nothing more. He could feel them dragging him out of the room.

Flare stayed by his side. She didn't know why, but she felt very protective of him. They maneuvered him into the stairwell, where the air was cleaner. Flare tore off her air mask to better assess the situation. TechRat was alive, but very dazed. The noxious fumes from the fire really took a toll.

"Tim? Tim can you hear me?" Flare put her ear close to his mouth. He was breathing. He was conscious; he just wasn't alert enough to respond. "We need to get him to the hospital." Flare looked at her partner. He radioed over to the ambulance for a stretcher. They arrived a moment later, as they had been anticipating that they would find him quickly. Flare helped secure him. She wanted to go with him; she knew that she had work to do inside. _Besides_, she rationalized to herself, _I doubt he would remember me_. But she was wrong.

TechRat was beginning to feel better. He was much more aware of his surroundings once the ambulance squad gave him some oxygen. He hated being strapped down to the stretcher, but knew it was for the best. As the EMTs assessed him, he could feel someone watching over him. It was a safe, protective feeling. He caught a glimpse of Flare out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since their brief exchange. It wasn't often that anyone, let alone a woman, talked to him like he was a normal person. The EMTs loaded him into their ambulance. TechRat knew that he'd be seeing Flare again, he'd see to it.

The fire was quickly extinguished. Before long the firefighters were packing up their equipment and getting ready to leave. The fire chief brought Eric inside to survey the damage, which was contained to the studio and was mostly from the smoke.

"I will give you the number of the clean-up company we refer people too. They can get the smoke smell out of here and clean up what's been damaged. I am sure your gadget over there," The chief said, pointing to the sound panel, "is gonna have to be replaced. I'll get the reports to you so you can put it through insurance." Eric didn't reply. He walked around his studio in shock at his losses. The Misfits quietly appeared in the door behind him. Pizzazz was feeling the unfamiliar emotion of guilt. She'd try to make it up to Eric.

Ch. 7

The doctors thought it would be best to keep TechRat overnight. He didn't want to stay, but decided that it was probably in his best interest. His mind kept trailing back to Flare. He tried hard to remember the firefighters that took him out of the building. He remembered hearing a voice call his name. _Had to be her, I saw her there. It had to be her._ With closed eyes, he tried to remember the sound of her voice, but was despondent that he couldn't. The nurse came in to check in on him.

"I'm fine." He told her. She smiled and left.

He spent some time reflecting on his life, as near death experiences often inspire us to do. He knew that he had come far in his life and that he was mentally strong. _It's time to stop Eric from running my life._ Tim Cooper really had overcome a lot of turmoil in his life. He grew up with an abusive father. His mother was murdered when he was young, and though Tim was sure that his father had done it – the police couldn't prove anything. When he was old enough, he left to live with his older brother. He studied hard and went to college for electrical engineering on a full scholarship, working long and hard enough to earn a doctorate. He enjoyed college because he felt like they wanted him there. Shortly before graduation someone else wanted him too – the CIA. He gladly accepted this position but was told that his work was strictly confidential. The advised him to set up a life as a cover-up. Just as things were coming together, his sister Mona came knocking on his door. She ran away from home. Tim, wanting to pay forward his brother's generosity, took her in. He was out of town so much that he didn't notice that Mona had a problem with drugs. Tim returned home from confidential business to find Mona passed out on the floor. She had overdosed. She went to the hospital where she survived, but her mind was no longer properly functioning. He regretfully admitted her to an institution on the urging of the administration of the CIA – he could not serve his country and provide for care. They even picked up the tab for her care. Eric met him during a visit. He was a patient there, but Tim didn't know why; only that he had admitted himself. He agreed to take a look at some ideas that Eric had. Soon Eric had him on payroll for side jobs and had dubbed him "TechRat".

There was a knock on the door. It hadn't been closed, but the person was trying to be polite. This started TechRat and snapped him out of his self-reflection. He checked the clock – it was almost 2 am. Flare entered the room looking tired, though TechRat thought she looked radiant.

"Hey, you're awake!" She said, smiling at him. "I talked the nurses into letting me see you for a few minutes. I promised I wouldn't wake you – just had to see that you were okay"

"I am glad to see you, Flare." TechRat was trying hard not to seem too happy, for fear of scaring her away.

"How are you?" She sat at a chair at the foot of his hospital bed.

"I can probably leave tomorrow... er... later today – just wanted to monitor a few things. I feel okay." He replied.

"I am glad. That was pretty intense."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have stayed in there – I didn't think it would get so smoky so fast."

"Then I'll spare you the lecture." Flare joked.

"I… uh... thank you. I know it was you that rescued me."

"Just doing my job. I didn't think you'd remember me." Flare stood up to read the contents of his intravenous solution. It was normal saline.

"Yeah, I have a hard time keeping track of all the beautiful women I meet in electronics stores." TechRat replied but was shocked himself that he would say something like that. Flare smiled in return. "How did you do with your project?"

"Worked like a charm. I was hoping I'd get the chance to see you again so I could thank you for the advice. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, though."

TechRat hadn't ever had too much time for women in his life. He had a few casual flings here and there, but by and large he couldn't be bothered. The last woman that he had any type of romantic involvement with was Minx, and that was hardly an affair to remember in his eyes. He liked the way that Flare made him feel like they had known each other forever, despite the fact that they had only met within the last 24 hours.

"I better go – I keep seeing the nurses walk by and look in. I don't want to upset anyone." Flare said, peeking out of the door.

"I understand. Will I see you again?" TechRat couldn't remember ever saying that to a woman. Not even Minx.

Flare looked at him deeply. She could sense that he was typically a solitary creature. "That would be nice." She knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around him. TechRat certainly wasn't usually comfortable with this level of contact. But this was fine with him. He welcomed it and enjoyed the feeling of someone connecting with him. She left him a means to contact her and backed towards the door. "Be well."

"You too." He replied, feeling more alive than ever despite the day's earlier events.

Ch 8.

Jerrica stepped out of the shower. She only had 2 hours before she was due at Lin-Z's show. Nobody was awake but her. She decided she better take this opportunity to test Synergy again. She wasn't too sure about the handiwork of the stranger that now knew too much about her. She walked through Synergy's wall with a sign of relief to see that things still looked the same. "Synergy, cast a hologram of Shana next to me." Synergy obliged, duplicating the lavender haired hologram beside Jerrica. "Now make me into a hologram of Flare." Synergy reproduced Jenny Baxter with precision. Jerrica inspected synergy's handiwork in the nearby mirror. She was a dead ringer for the new stranger. Her band mates were on the move. She could hear Raya's heavy foot steps coming toward the wall. Jerrica smiled and decided to play a trick on the holograms. "This never gets old." She whispered to Synergy.

Raya poked her head through the wall. "Jerrica?" She looked around and was quite startled to see Flare. "Oh, Flare, I did not know you were coming back."

"Yeah, I wanted to check the system." Jerrica said, hoping her voice didn't give it away. "You know, Flare I am not usually this type, but I got the feeling that you and I really connected when I was on my smoke break last night." Jerrica tried to stifle her surprise. She didn't know that Raya smoked. "I really like you." Raya continued, surprised at her own forwardness.

"Well, I like you, too, Raya." Jerrica wondered if Flare would really respond that way.

""You do?!" Raya was elated. "I mean it's all just so new to me. I have never really been attracted to a woman before - I mean it's not like I've had a lot of relationships. I have only been with one man – but when I met you, everything started to fall into place!" Raya spoke quickly. Jerrica was shocked. She felt awful for tricking Raya; she hadn't anticipated that Raya would drop a bomb like that on her. She wondered what Flare and Raya had spoken about. She wondered how to fix this.

"I… uh, don't know what to say, Raya." Jerrica struggled. She decided that it wasn't too far fetched that Flare would be interested in Raya. "I think that's great."

There was a long pause of silence. Jerrica felt terrible. She had no idea that any of this was going on in Raya's head. She wanted to tell Synergy that the show was over. She wanted to let Raya know that it was just a joke, but how could she do that when Raya was bearing her soul. Suddenly she saw that Raya was drawing closer. She felt Raya's arms embrace her and Raya's lips kissing her neck.

"Uh, Raya…" She began.

"Yes, Flare?"

"I have to go. Jerrica decided that was the best course of action.

Raya smiled and looked at her. She wanted to kiss her from the bottom of her soul. "Will I see you again?"

"I'm sure our paths will cross." Jerrica left abruptly. She had to call Flare and let her know what a mess she made for her. "Show's over, Synergy."

"You know Jerrica;" The ethereal voice chimed "I was tempted to shut down the hologram. You should not have played that trick on Raya."

"I know that, Synergy. Just change me back. I've learned my lesson." Jerrica morphed back into herself. She returned to her bedroom and cried.

Ch.9

Eric didn't sleep that night. His studio had heavy damage to it and he wondered how he would meet his deadlines. It was hard enough with the Misfits fighting him over recording this album. It seemed to him that the only time they really had a fire lit under them was when Jem and the Holograms were releasing a new album. He thought about lying to them about him hearing that they were going to release something new, but then it didn't matter – the studio could not be used right now. He worried that TechRat was seriously hurt. He could fix everything, but it would take him some time. It was bad enough that he disappeared on a regular basis on what he called "official business"; he would usually be gone for days and totally unreachable – no cell phone, no email, no contact. Eric wondered what else he was involved in. There was so much he didn't know about him.

He got out of bed and went for a shower. He decided he'd rather clean up his studio than lie there and worry about it. Soon he was on his way back to Misfit Music. The sun was just beginning to come up.

He made his way to his office. The entire building had the pungent odor of smoke. If he didn't know better, he'd think that there was still a fire. His security guard was sleeping at his post. Eric stifled the urge to kick his desk to startle him. He didn't have the energy to be vicious today. He sat at his desk and put his head down while he listened to his message. There was nothing too important, just a message from the lead singer of the Limp Lizards wondering when they are going to play their next show. Eric really couldn't care less about them at that moment.

With a sigh, he walked towards the studio. He expected to see the abomination from a few hours earlier, but instead was shocked to see a surprise. Pizzazz and Stormer were in the studio cleaning up. It was actually almost back to normal. Eric couldn't believe his eyes. He walked around the studio speechlessly.

"We figured that there would be a lot of clean up." Stormer offered. "We just wanted to get a head start."

"And you too Pizzazz?" Eric stammered his speech as he spoke.

Pizzazz sighed heavily. "I figured I was a little bit to blame, though you don't see Jetta here. Stormer called me a few hours ago and wanted to clean up. I just wanted to shut her up for a bit." She complained. Eric knew that was going to be the closest thing he got to an apology from her.

Eric never was a fool. He knew that he had been losing his authority over the Misfits. He also knew that this was the perfect time to get it back. "Good – I am glad to see that you girls have gotten started. We need to get this studio up and running by the end of the week – you have an album to cut." He said smoothly. He still didn't feel up to himself, but they didn't have to know that. He also knew that he had to give props to Stormer. He knew that Pizzazz did feel bad – and he would try and convince her to make things up to him by having her father buy a new soundboard; he was impressed that Stormer had convinced her to do manual labor by cleaning up.

"Stormer, I am touched that you'd do this for me." Eric walked over to her and knelt beside her. She blushed at the sentiment.

"You know me, Eric. Have to keep busy." She smiled at him. She rarely saw him out of his trademark 3 piece suit. He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Stormer reminded herself not to stare; she couldn't help it though. "And besides, Eric you know I'd do anything for you." Stormer never made a grand effort to hide her feelings from him.

Eric had always known that Stormer liked him. He never knew that she loved him. He had never taken the time to actually listen to what she said to him. Her words hung in his ears. Perhaps he had underestimated Mary Phillips. He put an arm around her and kissed her near her ear; she melted into him.

Their moment was cut short by the shrill ringing of Eric's cell phone. He saw TechRat's name and felt a bit better. He was well enough to check in.

Ch 10.

Jerrica pulled herself together. She would figure out what to do about the Raya situation later, but for now she had to get into Jem mode. She felt for her earrings and summoned Synergy. She was unenthusiastic about the change flashing over her body. _I better get this over with._ She thought as she walked to Aja's room. Aja was the only one with her phone number.

"Aja, I need Flare's phone number." Jem announced as she walked in. Aja was applying the blue star to her face to finish her look.

"Is Synergy okay?" Aja didn't look away from the mirror.

"It's not Synergy. I just need to…" Jem's mind raced, she didn't want to admit what she had done "invite her to the show as a thank you." That seemed reasonable to her.

"Her number is in my cell phone. I can call her if you want."

"Oh, I'd like to talk to her, you know- thank her again and all." Jem hoped she didn't sound too nervous.

Aja pulled out her phone and scrolled through for her name. She handed the small silver object over to Jem, who smiled and walked away.

Jenny Baxter had just gotten to sleep. She sighed heavily at the sound of her cell phone's familiar ring.

"Hello?" she didn't care if she sounded sleepy.

"Hi, Flare –it's Jem –uh Jerrica Benton." A familiar voice on the phone made Flare sit up.

"Hi Jerrica – is everything okay?" She sat up quickly, worrying that Synergy had malfunctioned again.

"Yes -Synergy is fine –and no – I have a different problem."

"Okay." Flare responded quizzically. "What's going on?"

"It's easier for me to talk to you in person. Is there any way you can meet me at Lin-Z Pierce's studio in an hour?"

Flare sighed –she'd never get to sleep, but this did sound important. "I'll be there."

They ended their phone call with the typical pleasantries. Flare tiredly got out of bed and headed for her shower -she'd sleep later on. Before long she was on her way to the studio.

Ch. 11

TechRat was allowed by the doctor to leave. Eric was on his way for him, and that was okay. He didn't mind relying on Eric from time to time. But that was all. Eric didn't need to know much else about him. It was just safer for both of them. Over the years, Eric and TechRat had built an odd relationship. Eric felt that he could run TechRat's life, and TechRat was happy to give him that illusion; but now TechRat had grown tired of the game.

Soon Eric arrived at the hospital. He looked like he hadn't slept though surprisingly was sober.

"How are you?" Eric quietly asked.

"I'm fine." TechRat didn't have too much to say. "Have you been to the studio?"

"Yeah -Stormer was there cleaning it up; she got Pizzazz to clean too." Eric got a wistful tone in his voice. TechRat wondered if he was finally coming to his senses about her.

"She's a class act." TechRat responded.

There was a definite tension in the room. Eric wanted to say so much more to TechRat. He wanted to let him know that he was terribly worried. But these new ideas in his head worried him that he had gone soft because of this incident. A nurse came in to finish the discharge for TechRat.

"Hi Mr. Cooper – I'm going to remove your IV and go over your discharge instructions. Then you can get out of here." She said.

"Very good." He responded.

"So, I heard you had a visitor late last night." She was clearly trying to make small talk as the removed the tape on his hand. Her statement piqued Eric's interest. He wondered who would be visiting TechRat at that hour.

"Yes, the firefighter who saved me came by to see if I was okay. It was a nice surprise to see her." TechRat smiled as he said that.

"Okay -follow up with your own doc in a week, or sooner if you start coughing or having trouble breathing. If anything seems like it's wrong, them come back here to the ER. No restrictions are set, and the doc left you a few scripts for an inhaler and a steroid to help your lungs heal. Any questions?" The nurse recited the instructions as if she had said the same thing hundreds of times.

"No."

"Then you're free to go." With that, Eric and TechRat left.

Ch 12

Jem and the Holograms arrived at Lin-Z's studio. They were set to perform a new song there as a publicity stunt. Lin-Z was always willing to help with this type of exposure, it was good for her and for the bands. Jem tried to keep up the appearance that everything was okay. She eyed Raya, who seemed to be in a good mood. She wondered if that was because of the earlier conversation. She kept a sharp eye out for Flare. She had to speak to her before Raya saw her.

Lin-Z strolled out onto her stage. She adjusted her mic onto the lapel of the bright orange blazer that she had paired with the purple zebra print skirt. She felt like something was wrong or out of place. She studied the set for a moment until her concentration was broken by the sound of her name being called.

"Ms. Pierce! Ms. Pierce!" A young man in a security uniform was quickly approaching her.

Startled, she replied "What, what is it?"

"Hi Ms. Pierce, my name is Frankie – I'm your evening security guard."

"Yes?" She was getting inpatient.

"Well, Ms Pierce , I wanted to give you a lead on a story."

"You have a lead on a story?" Her tone was shrill and impatient.

"Pizzazz of the Misfits was here last night. She said something about wanting to deliver a message to you." His voice was quick and nervous. "But instead we got to talking, Pizzazz and I, that is. And before I knew it we were in the broom closet having, uh… relations."

"Pizzazz and you?" Lin-z did not believe him. "Okay -well, that's nice… good for you."

"I'm not kidding. She was here last night."

"Sure, listen kid, I have a lot of work to do. We go live in 5 minutes. Come back to me when you have some pictures or a video." Lin-Z dismissed him and walked over to her usual chair. She still felt like something was wrong.

"Ms. Pierce, Jem has arrived – they will be ready in 10." An anonymous voice called from off stage.

She had been plugging this appearance all week. She was nervous about it, as she only had a handshake deal with Rio that they would show. But nevertheless, she mentioned it everyday. She figured that it was conceivable that Pizzazz was sniffing around for a Misfits appearance. Her eye was suddenly caught by the glimmer of the spotlight rounding her studio. Something out of place was on the stage.

Jem made her way back to the greenroom. The Holograms were getting their makeup touched. Flare had arrived a few minutes earlier. She was accompanied to the greenroom and told to wait there, on the direction of Jem.

"Flare!" Jem was glad that she had made it.

"Hi Jer… uh Jem. Glad to see you looking so… you."

"Flare, I am sorry to bring you here like this." Jem began. "I've done a terrible thing."

"This doesn't sound good." Flare replied with a puzzled look.

"I played a trick in Raya this morning, using a hologram of you."

Flare didn't like where this was going. "Go on."

"Raya is quite fond of you, and I think I may have made things more complicated."

"Complicated, how?" Flare felt herself getting annoyed.

"I didn't know what you had talked about, so I just went with what she was saying. Things like how she's really attracted to you and that she's never felt this way about a woman. I am so sorry." Jem looked like she was going to cry.

Flare didn't say anything for a while. She thought about the situation. She smiled broadly, revealing a retainer on her top teeth. She began to laugh. "I am sorry -I know you must be upset. It's just that – well, the whole thing is just so absurd. I mean I have to believe it, but I'll tell you –if I didn't see Synergy with my own eyes. Anyhow – don't sweat it. I'll figure out how to handle Raya."

"You're not angry?" Jem was shocked – she would have been furious if she was Flare.

"What purpose would it serve?" Flare was really too tired to care at the moment. "Did you hear about the fire at Misfit Music last night?"

"A fire? Was it bad?"

"No -just their soundboard, I suppose. One person had to go to the hospital from breathing in smoke, but he seemed fine. It was the same guy who helped me yesterday. Odd how things work out."

"Jem, you're on in 5!" A voice called from off stage.

Ch13

Eric didn't say anything for awhile. He nervously fidgeted with the radio dial. He paused at a Stinger's song – but changed it before TechRat could figure out which song it was. He hadn't slept in the hospital at all. He longed to get back to his workshop so he could sleep.

He looked out the window, quietly reading billboards. KJEM radio had a new AM disk jockey who promised to "Make your mornings move". TechRat doubted that she really could do that. Eric pulled onto an exit ramp. This wasn't TechRat's exit. He turned his head quickly to question Eric.

"I just want to stop by Lin-Z's studio. Jem is probably getting ready to perform." Eric anticipated a protest from TechRat.

"I think all you'll end up doing is getting yourself in trouble."

"You're not coming in with me?" Eric didn't want to face this alone.

"You're a grown man, Eric. I am sure you can handle this yourself." TechRat didn't want to admit that he didn't want to be there when Lin-Z found the modification.

"Come on – I know how much you like to see your inventions being used."

TechRat sighed heavily. It was true, he did like to see his ideas in action. He knew that Eric was going to hound him about this for the rest of the ride; he was really too tired to care. "Fine, I'll go in with you." He looked out the window to see the studio dead ahead. He thought about how this little stunt could put a black mark on his job with the CIA. These type of jobs had to come to and end. TechRat kept his mouth shut, He didn't feel like arguing right now.

Eric pulled up to the guard booth. Smiling broadly, he produced his Misfits Music ID and proudly showed it to the guard. The guard glanced up briefly from his newspaper and waved Eric in. They quickly parked and headed inside.

Lin-Z Pierce couldn't figure out what was wrong with her set. She dismissed it as the lighting pattern being off. She noticed an unfamiliar little box screwed into the side of the platform, but wasn't certain that it was out of place. Her assistant gently lead her back to her desk while her theme song softly cued. Like a puppet Lin-Z started her typical banter to open the show. She went on about how excited she was to welcome Jem and the Holograms. She discussed some of the latest gossip surrounding Lena Lerner's split from her husband Mike. The eager security guard, Frankie, was standing just off stage. He kept trying to wave to get her attention so he could have his fifteen minutes of fame. She tried to ignore him.

"Coming to the stage, please welcome Jem and the Holograms." Lin-Z would use the time that the band played in to have a little discussion with Frankie. Jem and the Holograms took the stage and went right into a sappy banter about raising money for the starlight foundation.

Eric and TechRat arrived just as Jem was taking the stage. Eric looked like an excited schoolboy to see his plan come to fruition. TechRat didn't think the distortion sensors would hit the right frequency to even be audible distortion. And even if it did work, it would only make Kimber sound bad. He abandoned Eric, who hadn't noticed, to find a quiet place to sit and rest his eyes. He could see the outline of a person slumped down in a chair. They looked as tired as he felt. _Well, misery loves company…_ he thought as he walked over. Flare came into view, TechRat's heart raced. What could the odds be? He thought he must be delirious with fatigue. "Flare?" He cautiously asked.

Flare's head shot up at the familiar sound of the gravelly voice. "Tim?! What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Eric dragged me here."

"I was invited by Jem."

"You know Jem?" TechRat asked.

"Yeah – well, it's a complicated story." Flare rolled her eyes as she said this. "She did something out of character towards me and wanted to apologize."

Just then, the band broke into song. To TechRat's surprise, the device worked better than he thought. As Kimber hit the high notes of her keyboard,, a shrill humming emanated from the amplifiers. Kimber jumped at the feedback sound and pushed her keyboard away from the amplifier. She kept playing as to keep up a professional appearance. Suddenly, Jem's appearance began to flicker. Flare noticed this immediately. She also noticed Eric Raymond watching this and laughing uncontrollably. Flare rushed the stage. She noticed a small box that looked similar to the transmission sensors she has replaced yesterday. They lit up wildly each time the feedback filled the room. She told Jem to get off stage and Shana to go with her. She then kicked swiftly at the sensor. TechRat cringed as he watched her destroy his handiwork. If it had been Pizzazz or Jetta, he would have had a fit, but he didn't mind watching Flare. He quietly wondered why Jem had left so quickly and why Flare was taking such bold actions.

Lin-Z immediately turned her attention from Frankie to the feedback as soon as it happened. She watched in horror as the headlining act went to pieces on live TV. She heard a familiar voice laughing. She turned to find Eric Raymond laughing loudly. This had to have been a set up. She saw that someone from the studio was tending to the onstage problem. Lin-Z turned her attention to Eric. Grabbing him by his arm she said, "What did you do?!"

"Me?! I did nothing. Can't I just stop by to see my favorite TV hostess?"

"Eric, I know you are behind this …and on live television. You have some nerve."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lin-Z confronted Eric on the fact that she today had a security guard bragging about his encounter with Pizzazz in the broom closet. That it was just convenient that he would show up today and that the Misfits rivals would have problems. She bluntly told him to leave. She then apologized to Frankie for not believing him.

"So can I give a report on the air?" Frankie asked enthusiastically.

"No one likes bragging, Frankie."

Flare cleared the stage pretty quickly. If she hadn't been so quickly reactive she assumed that Jem and the Hologram's secret would be revealed. She tiredly left the stage, returning back to the quiet corner where TechRat was waiting. She could read all the questions on his mind. She didn't want to explain. She knew he'd figure it out for himself given enough time.

TechRat held his questions. It simply had been too long of a day. He looked around for Eric and saw him getting gruffly pushed towards the door by a security guard. His ride was now gone.

"Well, there goes my ride." TechRat sighed. "Typical Eric Raymond stunt." He pulled out his cell phone.

"I have my truck here. Don't call a cab, you'll only have to wait. I'll take you home." Flare offered. "We both need to get out of here and rest."

"You save me one more time and I'm going to have to get you a cape." TechRat smiled as best as he could. Flare was right, he needed rest – he was getting delirious.

Ch14

Jem collapsed into the couch in the dressing room. She sighed heavily. She assumed that Flare had not properly fixed Synergy. Her stomach knotted in anger. She no longer felt sorry for the trick she played earlier. Shana stood guard at the door. She waited until the commotion seemed like it was over.

"I can't believe I trusted her to fix Synergy." Jem growled.

"It seemed like she did. I wonder what went wrong." Shana glanced back at Jem. She looked fine now. Everything happened so quickly. She couldn't be sure that it was a malfunction by Synergy.

Soon the rest of the Holograms filed in. Everyone was really quiet. Kimber felt like it was her fault, as it was her keyboard that caused the distortion. She sat next to Jem with a heavy sigh.

"Well, as disasters go, that wasn't too bad." Aja finally offered.

"You got the disaster part right." Jem huffed.

"Lin-Z is resetting the stage and we're going to go out there and perform our song again. It's no big deal." Aja ignored Jem's attitude.

"No big deal?! It was your friend who almost destroyed us."

"No, she fixed Synergy. She broke something on stage." Aja defended.

Just then Rio came into the room. He looked at the group and shook his head. "I don't know what happened, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it." He started. "If you girls could get your selves together, you're going back on in 5 minutes."

"Rio, my keyboard…" Kimber started in protest.

"..is fine, I already checked it out. Everything is in working order. Eric Raymond set up some sort of device on the stage. That woman who went up there destroyed it. Everything is fine." Rio reassured the group. Jem was unconvinced. She wanted to plot some sort of vengeance on Flare.

The group reluctantly prepared themselves for their attempt to try their song again. Rio knew they would recover. He headed out to the stage to ensure that all would go as planned. Lin-Z was back in front of the camera apologizing for the technical snafu.

"Folks," She chuckled, "We can assure that Jem and the Holograms do all their own music live and don't lip synch like Lindsay Sampson." She cut to commercial promising the viewers that they would hear the band play upon return.

Ch 15

TechRat didn't say anything for a really long time with the exception of the occasional road direction. Flare was anticipating his questions, but she had a few of her own too. She kept her eyes locked on the road.

"Take the next right." TechRat offered. "So why did you have Jem leave the stage so quickly?"

Flare didn't want to venture here, but knew it was coming. "Saving her the embarrassment factor." She wondered if he'd accept that answer. "What did Eric drag you there for? Did you install that distortion sensor?"

TechRat sighed heavily. "I did install the sensor. The Misfits and Jem and the Holograms have a long standing rivalry. Eric likes to get a leg up when he can; Mostly to compensate for his half-assed attempt at managing a band that would probably do better if he left them alone. He keeps me on staff to fix electronics and to occasionally make up devices to irritate Jem."

"Oh…" Flare said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I know you're friends with them."

"Just Aja.. I really only recently met everyone else."

"I live in the brick house up ahead on the left." TechRat pointed as he said this.

Flare was surprised by the conservative small brick house. He had taken the time to plant some perennials along the front of the house. There was an oddly shaped metal building in the back of the house. Flare pulled in the driveway and put her truck in park.

"Would you like to see some of my projects?" TechRat offered.

"You should go in and get some rest." Flare smiled at him. "I promise to come back when we're both not so tired."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

Flare leaned in and lightly kissed TechRat's cheek. She felt like after all of the events in the last 36 hours, that she really had a connection with him. He felt the same way. His heart raced every time she came anywhere near him.

"I'll be seeing you." TechRat said as he got out of the truck.

"Indeed." Flare replied with a wink. She had a lot of questions for him, and knew he had a lot of questions for her; but now was not a time for questions.

CH 16

Eric arrived back at Misfits Music. He slowly made his way up to his office. He no longer felt tired, but rather energized by seeing Jem and The Holograms blow it on national television. Sure he had gotten caught. His hubris often forced him to want to see the outcome of his plots. He silently chastised himself for being so bold, though in his heart he was not sorry. The putrid scent of burning electronics was still in the air, but it had dissipated a considerable amount.

He could hear someone in the studio. He hoped it was Stormer. It was not. Pizzazz was sitting quietly still scrubbing the chemical from the extinguisher out of the grooves on the floor. She looked at him and rose to meet him when he entered the room.

"I did a lot of thinking this morning." Pizzazz started. "It's time that I get my life straightened out."

"That's good, Pizzazz."

"That means starting with you." Pizzazz quietly said.

"What does that mean? Are you firing me as your manager?" Eric could feel himself panicking.

"No, I just think that our wild days together are over. I need to find a stable man, I need a stable relationship." Pizzazz explained. "You should start taking Stormer seriously, she loves you and you need a good woman like her to love you."

"That's very admirable of you." Eric wrapped his arms around her. He would miss his encounters with Pizzazz, after all, she was incredible in bed, but she was right. They both had to get straightened out. He simply wasn't as ready as Pizzazz was yet.

Ch17

The rest of Lin-Z's show went on without a hitch. Jem was still pretty upset and still believed that Flare had set her up. It was all starting to make sense. Flare must have had strong ties to the Misfits. Why else would she have brought up Eric Raymond? She went up to her bedroom once back at the mansion and quickly penned a note intended for Raya. She slid in under Raya's door and headed down to Synergy's room.

"Synergy, don't you dare judge me for this." Jem ordered.

"For what?" Synergy asked in her usual even tone.

"I need you to turn me into Flare again. And don't change me back until I tell you, no matter what."

"Jem, I don't think I like what you are up to."

"Synergy, you are a computer. Your job is to do what I tell you and not to form opinions about it."

"As you wish, Jem." Synergy replied and transformed Jem into Flare once again.

Up in her bedroom, Raya found the note slipped under her door. It read in carefully penned handwriting:

Raya,

You were terrific. I'll be stopping by soon, I am down checking Synergy

right now. I really want to spend some quality time with you.

Flare

She sighed happily. This was moving a bit fast for her, but at the same time was exactly what she wanted. She quickly changed into a lacy slip. She wanted to look sexy, yet nonchalant when Flare arrived.

Ch18

Flare pulled into her driveway. _Wild horses couldn't drag me back out right now._ She thought. As she walked through her front door, her cell phone played its familiar tune. She tiredly answered it. It was her fire chief asking that she return to Misfit music to finish the report. Flare explained that she hadn't yet slept but would head right there after a minimum of 3 hours of rest so that she didn't make any errors. He agreed. The investigation would be simple since the cause of the fire was known, but the paperwork was necessary as there was a civilian injury.

Flare quickly headed inside and promptly went to sleep.


End file.
